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Mississauga surgeon hit with 9 lawsuits

Dr. John Pariag is still practising despite the College’s finding of 21 cases of misconduct.

Dr. John Pariag stands outside the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario after his malpractice hearing last month. (TORONTO STAR / MARCO CHOWN OVED)

By Marco Chown OvedStaff Reporter

Fri., Nov. 9, 2012

A Mississauga surgeon allowed to continue practising after admitting to 21 cases of incompetence and professional misconduct has been sued at least nine times for a total of over $7.5 million, documents show.

In one case yet to be settled, Jack McVey alleges in a statement of claim that Pariag severed two arteries in the process of removing his appendix. As McVey bled, he was emergency-airlifted to Sudbury, where he underwent life-saving surgery.

In another, Cheryl Bakhuis claims that when she had keyhole surgery in her abdomen, Pariag cut open her bladder and damaged arteries. Her case is also ongoing.

“We had an out-of-control doctor here … nobody was doing anything,” another former patient from Haileybury, Mike Camp, told the Star. He sued after what he says was a bowel puncture and unnecessary removal of his appendix. His case was settled, though he wouldn’t discuss details.

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Claims made in the other lawsuits include:

• An elderly man died not long after Pariag botched two operations on his intestines that left internal leaks. That case was settled.

• During an operation to remove a goiter, Pariag damaged an artery in the patient’s neck, causing him to bleed internally. That lawsuit was also resolved.

• Sponges twice left in patients after surgery. One of those cases was settled.

None of the allegations has been proven in court and, in the cases where he filed a statement of defence, Pariag denied any negligence or wrongdoing. Repeated attempts to reach Pariag and his lawyer have gone unanswered.

“Incompetence” and “professional misconduct” on Pariag’s part have been officially recognized on three occasions.

He first had his privileges restricted by Temiskaming Hospital in May 2009. In July 2010, Pariag was restricted from performing surgery anywhere in the province by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

“It is extremely rare for a doctor to lose their licence as a result of incompetence, even where there is gross negligence,” said Paul Harte, a medical malpractice lawyer in Toronto.

“Given that the College’s primary mandate is to protect the public, you would expect many, many more licence revocations,” Harte wrote in an email.

Complaints about Pariag first came forward while he was working as a general surgeon at Temiskaming Hospital in northern Ontario between October 2006 and July 2009.

In the statement of claim in one $500,000 suit, it is alleged that Pariag left a sponge inside Carol Plante following a 2008 operation to remove polyps from her colon.

In a letter to the Star, Plante’s daughter Cathy said the suit was settled for $10,000. Carol died of cancer earlier this year.

“I am in disbelief that he will not lose his licence,” Cathy Plante wrote.

McVey’s claim alleges that during a routine appendix removal in 2008, Pariag severed two arteries that caused internal bleeding. McVey was airlifted to Sudbury for emergency surgery to save his life.

“Not only were arteries cut but … the subsequent repair attempt by Dr. Pariag made matters worse,” McVey alleges in his $1 million lawsuit.

McVey developed pneumonia, kidney failure and at least five abdominal hernias as a result of the surgeries and the length of time spent under anesthetic, the statement of claim alleges.

Pariag contests McVey’s claims in the ongoing case.

In his statement of defence, Pariag’s lawyer, Paul Millican, writes that “Dr. Pariag appropriately performed a laparoscopic appendectomy.”

When bleeding was discovered after the surgery, Pariag did a second operation to stop it. The next day, McVey was bleeding again and was “transferred to a vascular surgeon.”

The statement of defence adds that “any damages sustained by the Plaintiff … were not the result of any act, omission, breach of duty or want of care on the part of (Pariag).”

Pariag’s future as a doctor rides on the College Discipline Committee penalty expected in the coming weeks.

At a hearing last week, the panel suggested Pariag be allowed to continue consulting patients, without performing surgery, as long as he notifies them in writing of the restrictions on his medical licence.

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